Composer, keyboardist, Grammy-winning producer, sound designer, and bandleader
Jason Miles is well-known to musicians and contemporary jazz fans. In addition to programming synths for
Miles Davis on
Tutu, Siesta, and
Amandla, he has worked with many jazzmen, including
Marcus Miller,
Grover Washington, Jr. Michael Brecker, and
David Sanborn. He's also assisted R&B artists such as
Diana Ross,
Michael Jackson,
Luther Vandross, and
Aretha Franklin. Black Magic is
Miles' first studio album since 2015. The set -- his first for Ropeadope -- includes six new compositions, three concert versions of tunes from 2015's
Kind of New, and a live read of
Davis' "Jean Pierre" (that originally appeared on
We Want Miles).
This iteration or
Kind of New includes most of the group who toured Europe in 2018, with trumpeter
Philip Dizack replacing
Theo Croker. The lineup also includes saxophonist
Jay Rodriguez, bassist
Reggie Washington, drummer
Gene Lake, and drum programmers
Jimmy Bralower and
Steven Wolf. The title-track opener finds
Miles on piano setting up a flowing groove as the band coalesces. His solo is breezy but pushes against the rhythm section with mid-register flourishes setting up
Dizack's fine solo. "Kathy's Groove" is all jazz-funk.
Miles' trademark airy mix surrounds the bassline and shuffling rhythms. Piano and synth hold down the vamp;
Miles' soloing is seductive and atmospheric, with hooky melodic ideas offering nuance before a dubby bridge. On "The Other Side of the World,"
Washington's lithe, slinky bassline and
Lake's break-laden shuffle set the pace.
Rodriguez wields a flute that swirls around the melody with affirmation before synths, and piano play in tandem to open the tune into a groove-saturated improvisation where
Miles takes a high-flying solo. "Wolfadelic" grafts smooth contemporary jazz onto EDM with an infectious beat. It's the feel-good jam of the set with psychedelic funk painted onto a
Horace Silver-esque piano solo. The four live tracks were cut at New York's Nublu, with three over ten-minutes long. "Jean Pierre" commences with a Rhodes piano vamp before
Washington and
Lake claim the groove with big-beat authority, cutting a path for
Rodriguez's scorching soprano solo and canny group interplay. "Ferrari" is a dynamite showcase for the band. They visit the fusion neighborhood that inspired early records by
Weather Report and
Passport. On "Kat's Eye,"
Lake and
Washington establish a whomping, NOLA-style second-line vamp for
Rodriguez's bass clarinet to rest on.
Miles' Rhodes piano sweeps in with dexterity, commanding the center and pushing his rhythm section into the red while simultaneously accenting the groove, making open space for
Dizack and
Rodriguez to solo. "Street Vibe" is overdriven fusion jazz with smoking B-3, trumpet, snare breaks, a rubbery bassline, and a punchy saxophone; it evokes the example of
Davis' best electric bands better than any of the posthumous tributes. Black Magic is a total showcase for
Miles and
Kind of New. The live tracks are all burners, while the studio cuts offer imagination, savvy production, and inspired playing. This all-killer, no-filler date proves American fusion remains alive, well, and thriving. ~ Thom Jurek